Ransomware continues to proliferate, and hybrid operations are becoming more common.
Russia has shown a particular interest in cyber attacks that cause physical effects by targeting OT in critical infrastructure, including in the US. Cyber attacks are part of Russia’s ‘grey’ arsenal as they fall short of ‘acts of war’ under traditional definitions and attribution is not always clear. Tensions between Russia and the west are high. When adversaries consist of nation-state actors, we must view threat levels in the context of what is going on in the world. While there is promising evidence of improved cyber security across the board, there is still some variation, often influenced by the level of regulation in the given territory or industry sector.Īaron: Threats are a function of an adversary’s capabilities and intentions. In these environments, systems are often vulnerable due to their ‘end of life’ status and have limited monitoring and response in place, thus providing a lower barrier of entry for the attackers. We also see attack methods targeting OT, aiming to halt production systems. While we do still see data as a key target for hackers, who often hope to leverage the sensitivity and regulatory pressures for financial gain, data-rich organisations are by no means the only targets. The buzzword of recent years is ransomware, but phishing, man in the middle, distributed denial of service (DDoS) and zero-day exploits are also causing significant harm. Jones: Unfortunately, hackers are determined in their quest to disrupt, and we are continuously seeing new and innovative attack methodologies emerge. With these findings, we would conclude that the magnitude of the cyber security threats facing companies today cannot be overstated, especially as companies are vulnerable to a wealth of cyber breaches that could have a potentially devastating financial impact. Another 2021 study found that the most common form of attack was compromising usernames and passwords. Reports have found that cyber attacks increased 50 percent in 2021 compared to 2020, and each cyber attack is also getting more costly, with a further report from IBM demonstrating that the average total cost of a cyber breach increased to over $4m in 2021 – the highest ever recorded. Cyber attacks are becoming more frequent, and the losses from a successful cyber breach are only becoming more devastating. Hayes: Cyber threats are currently ranked as one of the top concerns facing companies globally and they are only increasing in magnitude. This is particularly pertinent for sensitive information and operational technology (OT) – be it physical or virtual systems – which are a key focus for cyber insurers. Without the correct processes, systems and training, modern businesses are highly vulnerable to malicious cyber events. With such a broad spectrum of threats encompassed under one banner, no company is immune and, as such, should have a comprehensive and adequate cyber security programme. They could be year-long, state-sponsored espionage attacks that rely on months of digital surveillance and complex cyber warfare tools to execute malicious attacks, down to a simple and well-crafted email that asked for a transfer of funds.
Modern attack vectors are both phenomenally complex and beautifully simple. FW: How would you describe the magnitude of the cyber security threat facing companies today? In your opinion, how vulnerable are companies to attacks targeting data, as well as attacks targeting operational technology such as physical machinery and safety devices?īouloux: Today’s cyber security threat is a gargantuan proposition to overcome.
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